Gophers Top Big Ten in Latest APR Awards

April 15, 2016

The NCAA announced that 14 Golden Gopher sports programs have been honored with Academic Progress Rates (APR) Public Recognition Awards. The awards are given each year to collegiate programs scoring in the top 10 percent in each sport based on their most recent multi-year APR. The 14 Gopher honors are tops in the Big Ten, and tie last year’s award total.

Overall, the University of Minnesota improved from fifth to fourth among FBS institutions with the highest percentage of teams earning APR Awards. This ranked behind only Stanford (17), Notre Dame (16) and Duke (15). Minnesota ranked first in the Big Ten with 14, while Northwestern followed closely with 12. The University of Minnesota was the highest among public institutions for the third straight year.

“Our student-athletes, coaches, and staff strive for academic excellence and this recent APR announcement is a testament to their efforts,” interim athletics director Beth Goetz said. “Having 14 of our programs recognized by the NCAA exemplifies the hard work that goes on in the classroom at the University of Minnesota. Our academic staff and student-athletes are truly committed and the results continue to show it.”

Baseball, football, men's cross country, men’s golf, men's gymnastics, men’s hockey, men's tennis, softball, women’s cross country, women's golf, women's gymnastics, women's swimming & diving, women’s track and volleyball all scored in the top 10 percent in their respective sports. Since the APR Public Recognition Awards were announced in 2004-05, it marks the first time football, men’s golf, and men’s hockey has been named in the top 10 percent.

“I’d like to commend the hard work by our student-athletes and coaching staffs as they continue to prove the importance of academics here at the University of Minnesota,” director of McNamara Academic Center J.T. Bruett said. “We look to continue this tradition of cultivating great students, both on and off the playing field.”